1 in every 2.44 persons is a government employee in DC

[MovingTarget]

Honestly, I don't see the problem here. DC is the capital, so it makes sense that it would have a lot of government (not gubmint...) jobs per capita. But lets be realistic, even though telecommuting has come a long way, some business is best done in person. It isn't a practical solution on that grand of a scale.

 

[makken]

There would be no "breaking apart of infrastructure." It would have a cost but it would have advantages too, beyond your snotty comment. It's also just a matter of fairness too. Why should the DC area get all the federal jobs? "Derr because it's the national capital" is a stupid reason these days when we have the telecommunications we do.

Telecommunications of the scale you're speaking of has really only become possible within the last decade or so. Even so, as mentioned, it's probably more efficient (heh imagine that) to have everything in 1 localized area.

 

[Infohawk]

Telecommunications of the scale you're speaking of has really only become possible within the last decade or so. Even so, as mentioned, it's probably more efficient (heh imagine that) to have everything in 1 localized area.

You're not going to convince me that the FCC needs to talk to the Dept. of Agriculture all that often. Businesses do nationwide operations all the time. It's not the end of the world if someone makes a phone call or takes a plane a couple times a year.

There's no good reason to have an incestuous culture of government workers cut off from the rest of the country.

 

[nonlnear]

There's no good reason to have an incestuous culture of government workers cut off from the rest of the country.

That depends on what the definition of "good" is.

 

[Linflas]

Given that DC was not even important enough to have a direct rail connection until after WWII it really is a 1 industry town and it should not surprise anyone that the majority of the residents work for that industry. Do those stats apply to just Federal workers or do they include the DC Government as well? At the height of the Marion Barry regime 1 in 5 DC residents worked for the DC government. That is one of the ways he kept himself in power for so long despite all his well known scandals.

 

[classy]

This is not suprising at all. Its the seat of the federal government. DC is just a city. I am sure a high degree of the number of people in Michigan work for GM.

 

[ss284]

It's not the end of the world if someone makes a phone call or takes a plane a couple times a year.

It's not the end of the world but it sure will cost the taxpayers a bit more money.

 

[EagleKeeper]

It's not the end of the world if someone makes a phone call or takes a plane a couple times a year.

It's not the end of the world but it sure will cost the taxpayers a bit more money.

IT will cost the taxpayers less money.

Office space in the major metro ares are expensive.

In DC, even more so because the owners of the buildings (the US Government does not own many) jack up the costs because of who the tenant is/serves. The GSA does not negotiate very well for rent inside the Beltway.

Move departments outside of the DC metro area and the costs will drop.

They want to be close because the power factor is thought to rub off. Cloesr to the boss; more power you present.

with the exception of the State and Defense; all others could be moved out of DC close to any city that has direct flights 3-4 times a day to Dulles, BWI or Regan.

That would cover most every decent size city in the US and cut the floor space requirements in half.

Traffic gridlock would be reduced; most government employees would end up with a better lifestyle

 

[ss284]

I think the idea sounds great on paper. Execution is another story, and the government doesn't exactly have a sparkling record. If anything, government organizations have recently been trying to concentrate their presence(i.e. FDA) rather than dilute.

 

[Linflas]

IT will cost the taxpayers less money.

Office space in the major metro ares are expensive.

In DC, even more so because the owners of the buildings (the US Government does not own many) jack up the costs because of who the tenant is/serves. The GSA does not negotiate very well for rent inside the Beltway.

Move departments outside of the DC metro area and the costs will drop.

They want to be close because the power factor is thought to rub off. Cloesr to the boss; more power you present.

with the exception of the State and Defense; all others could be moved out of DC close to any city that has direct flights 3-4 times a day to Dulles, BWI or Regan.

That would cover most every decent size city in the US and cut the floor space requirements in half.

Traffic gridlock would be reduced; most government employees would end up with a better lifestyle

I think they own a lot more than you think. Many of the Federal buildings in DC are multi-block complexes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Buildings_of_the_United_States_government_in_Washington,_D.C.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I think they own a lot more than you think. Many of the Federal buildings in DC are multi-block complexes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Buildings_of_the_United_States_government_in_Washington,_D.C.

49 Buildings are listed as government owned.

Looking through that list, about 1/4 are not office type buildings (going by name)

I would expect that that is no more than 20% of government leased floor space in the DC. When you expand to the Metro area and remove government compounds (NASA & military), the numbers go down even way further

 

[Infohawk]

It's not the end of the world but it sure will cost the taxpayers a bit more money.

No it wouldn't... not when you take into consideration what eaglekeeper pointed out. And this is in large part about the size of government and the fairness and prudence of having all government jobs in one geographical area.

It should be alarming to most people that private sector jobs are shrinking and the federal-related jobs are still growing. Even if you're into big government, might as well spread the wealth.